Batteries are generally constructed from a plurality of voltage-generating cells in order to be able to deliver a demanded voltage, a demanded current and/or a demanded capacitance. In particular in the case of relatively high-power batteries such as are often used for electric vehicles, it is often the case that several hundred cells are connected to one another. This leads to various problems because the high currents that arise during charging and discharging lead to considerable heating of the battery, for which reason the battery is often cooled. To be able to bring the battery to its optimum operating temperature even in winter, it is also known for the batteries to be heated. A further problem during the operation of batteries, in particular if a. large number of cells are connected in series, is that the volume thereof changes depending on the state of charge and temperature. To prevent excessively high cell pressures from building up, which under some circumstances could damage the cells, “breathing” of the cells is often permitted by means of a corresponding construction of the battery.
A disadvantage of the known solutions is that they are usually technically relatively complex and therefore make the battery expensive. Furthermore, technically complex solutions generally lead to lower operational reliability of the battery.